Dead Crystal
by DiscardedAngel
Summary: The Storm Hawks crash land on a barren Terra. But a few nasty suprises are waiting around for them...
1. Wrong Course

"Winner!" Finn raced around the middle table like it was some achievement. Sourly Aerrow and Junko looked on.

The door opened and Lypix and Piper leapt back to stop themselves being run over.

"What the hell?" It was Piper's question but Lypix's face showed the same confusion.

"He finally managed to stay on his skimmer long enough to win a race." Aerrow replied. "But I still won!" the blonde yelled starting to jump around as well, Lypix stared in amazement at the childlike behaviour.

Stork grimaced, "But his skimmer is still going to need work."

"Lighten up Stork my man, I won!" He slowed to a halt in front of the girls, "Hey, wanna race again with the girls this time?"

Piper groaned while Lypix smiled, but before anyone could accept or decline, Stork answered for them, "_No one_ is going out."

"What's wrong Stork?" Aerrow asked, forgetting his loss and turning his attention to more important things.

"Something wrong with the dials" He tapped the aged glass in front of him, "And we're in uncharted territory."

Piper frowned, "I thought we were heading for Atmosia?"

Aerrow and Stork exchanged a guilty look, "Well-

"Why on earth have you two gone this way?!"

They both blushed, but it was a serious Finn who answered. "We started to get tailed by some Cyclonions some miles back, we hoped we could lose them this way."

Lypix flinched, her hand curling around the blue crystal in her pocket, Cyclonis was aware of it now, and they still did not know entirely what it did.

"Why did you not tell us Aerrow, we're a team?!" Piper exclaimed. It occurred to Aerrow that Piper and Lypix in a unified front was a lot more dangerous than the two of them against each other. He glanced at Lypix's subconscious reaction, "I didn't want to worry you two."

Piper rolled her eyes, "What are we? Washerwomen?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that."

"OF COURSE YOU DID! "

"Guys." Lypix whispered, strangely breathless.

"WELL SORRY FOR BEING CONCERNED!"

"Piper." Lypix tried to reach out to the closest Storm Hawk, but Piper stepped forward.

"MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE LESS WORRY AND MORE EQUALITY! "

"Please stop fighting." But they ignored her decreasing volume and continued getting louder.

"OH YEAH? LIKE WE WALK AROUND LIFTING OUR HATS EVERY TWO SECON-"

The lights dimmed and the Condor lurched downwards slightly before righting itself.

"What was that?" Finn asked looking upwards, like the answer could be found on the ceiling.

"I'm not sure." Stork replied flipping a couple of switches, "Almost like we had a brief power shortage."

Junko glanced to see Piper's reaction when he spotted a paling Lypix shuddering on the floor. "Lypix!"

Lypix's skin had turned to a very white shade of ivory, her hair clung to her scalp in fear it would fall out. Her throat heaved every now and again like she was going to throw up.

"What's wrong Lypix?" It was a gentle voice, and came from the most inquisitive of them all, Piper.

"I-I think Stork be-better land." She retched coating the inside of a conveniently placed bin with vomit.

"Ew." Finn remarked.

"Are you travelsick?" Junko asked.

"I don't-"She threw up again, "know... but I don't feel so good."

"We got other problems!" Stork yelled, "We're going down!" The lights flickered more violently and the Condor suddenly plunged downwards, finally being subjected to the laws of physics.

Stork grabbed a small handheld radio and started to scream through its transmission, _"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! THE CONDOR, STORM HAWK CRUISER IS GOING DOWN. I REPEAT, IT IS GOING DOWN. IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED!"_

For a few moments it was completely silent as they fell towards the unknown land beneath them.

"_This is the Poison, Cyclonion battleship. Are you sure you 'require' our assistance?"_

"Oh God." Piper exclaimed, she looked at a conflicting Aerrow, could he ignore his pride enough to accept their help? He nodded at Stork who immediately replied, _"Yes!"_

The Storm Hawks felt the force as several grappling hooks gripped onto the Condor, however the Poison started to fall too, slackening off the cables. But it was all Stork needed to ease their landing. Just a little bit.

Crunching metal cursed through their ears and several cries of pain spread through the air. Then it stopped. The dust settled, and people started to call out to each other.


	2. Recovery

"STORK?!?"

"I'm fine." Came the sullen reply. The Merb did not take kindly to being thrown about, or his beloved aircraft being smashed up.

"Good job with the landing." Aerrow said.

"Could have been better" Finn moaned as he stood up, his left arm gashed in several places by a close metal object, his first action to try and bandage it up.

A pile of rubble subsided to reveal a dusty Junko, who grunted slightly but gave them thumbs up.

"Where are the girls?" Aerrow asked, wincing as he felt a slash across the bottom of his leg.

"Lypix is here." Finn mumbled while using his teeth to help secure the bandaging, "She looks even worse though and she's unconscious."

A loud scream from their left came as Piper came to, her right shoulder impaled by a thin piece of piping. She flailed a bit like a fish out of water, but as Aerrow and Junko reached her sides she managed to bite her lip and breathe a little calmer.

"We're going to get it out, I promise." Aerrow smiled and held her hand while Junko yanked on it.

Finn crouched down next to Lypix who had been next to him when he'd opened his eyes. Her breathing was very faint, hardly stirring the dust by her mouth, and every now and again her whole body fluttered like it was weakening.

"YOW!" Piper screamed as it came out, her mood shifted between anger and irritation as she let Aerrow bandage it up.

"What about the Cyclonions?" Finn asked standing back up, "How long have we got to get out of here?"

Stork pulled down the scope, extremely grateful it was still working. "I would say we were luckier than they were. Because we got pulled up slightly, we had less momentum when we hit this Terra than they did. We don't have to worry about them."

"But others will be sent after them." Piper grimaced, "we need to get out of here."

"And Lypix needs help." Finn said, "I don't think she'll last another day without a doctor."

A small whimpering noise came from her mouth as if to emphasize the fact._ "D-don't leave m-me al-lone."_

"We also have another problem." Stork frowned, "The crystals aren't working."

"What do you mean they're not working?!" Piper snarled through gritted teeth as Aerrow helped her stand.

"Completely unres-"He stopped listening to a distant sound, "Can you guys hear that?"

They paused; a faint heightening noise could be heard.

Piper opened her eyes wider, "Everyone get do-"

The standing Storm Hawks pressed themselves to the ground as an explosion ratcheted above them, for a few moments they waited until it withdrew.

"What just happened?" Finn winced as he assessed the state of his arm.

"I know where we are." Piper moaned as she stood up, "We're on Terra Mas. A Terra composed completely of Leech crystals."

Stork's mouth dropped, "But that's just a legend, I mean, how would anyone be _able_ to get away and tell a story like that?"

Piper glanced at him, "Perhaps there is a way to get out of here."

He scoffed, "Oh yeah, we just have to cross miles of wastelands to get to another Terra. Sure, like the beasties won't get us first."

Aerrow frowned, "I think we might have to Stork, and, um, we're going to have to come back for the Condor."

Stork's eyes opened extremely wide, "No way. Absolutely not! Are you mad?!"

Aerrow's glance ran slightly over Lypix's shuddering body, "We're going to have to, our wounds are serious enough, but Lypix is going to be in serious danger if we don't get out of here soon."

Piper gasped, "Of course! The Terra is affecting her heart!"

Finn made a weird expression, "You mean her heart is being absorbed by the leechers out there?"

"Not exactly, we've already done tests to see how she reacts to leech crystals. It's almost as if her body is a shield between them. But a whole Terra is one hell of a higher concentration than what we used, if we don't get out of here like Aerrow says, her heart will fail completely."

Stork stayed completely still, his body prepared for a panic attack, there was no chance in hell freezing that he was going to leave his beloved. "I'm not going then."

"Stork you can't stay here on your own, Cyclonions are going to come looking."

"Well I'll fight them off."

Aerrow frowned, "Stork, you know you won't be able to."

"We'll I'm not leaving the Condor!"

"You're either leaving with us, or Cyclonions. It's your choice."

He twisted his face in annoyance, "We'll we better _hurry_, she can't be on her own too long."


	3. Her Games

The door opened like something from a space movie.

It was a little scary in the purplish landscape; any light that managed to creak through the chokable clouds gleamed greedily off the surface.

"The Terra is too big to explode; there isn't enough crystal energy in the Atmos to fill it to full." It was a statement of reassurance, but Piper didn't sound that confident.

"Maybe someone lives here that could help us." Stork said hopefully, he didn't want to go too far from his Condor.

Finn stared in a shocked horror at the seamless ground, "How exactly?"

"A house hollowed out of the crystal, I don't know!"

"Hey. Let's not get angry at each other, we have to keep moving." Aerrow soothed, he glanced at Lypix, "How you holding up Junko?"

"I'm okay, she's not that heavy." Lypix's head lolled slightly on his shoulders.

"Well be careful with her." He asked. Piper's response was to scowl.

She'd been contemplating Lypix's strange behaviour since they'd returned. She seemed to flinch whenever Aerrow paid her a compliment, something that would have made her smile before, and was always watching them as if something was going to happen. What made it worse was that Lypix would _not_ tell Piper what had happened to her. Did Lypix know she was going to die? Or was it something worse?

"How far do you think we're going to have to walk?" Finn moaned as he held his arm painfully.

"I don't know for certain, but only at least two miles of the Terra, then who knows in the wastelands?" Piper replied, still stuck in her own thoughts.

"And you told me to leave my Condor." Stork growled, he hated walking.

Aerrow sighed until Junko pointed ahead, "Look, there's the edge."

They approached and glanced over, the sharp cliff face of jagged purple glass. "How do we get down?" Finn asked, thinking mainly about the injuries that hindered their progress.

"There's a steep path look."

"Lypix! You're awake!" Aerrow responded.

She blushed, "Yes."

"Would you like me to put you down?" Junko asked.

"No thank you, it's only my head that's feeling better."

"What exactly hurts?" Finn asked rather curious.

She smiled to herself, "It feels like I suddenly haven't got a body. But it's also like my mind is extremely clear, more so than it ever has been."

"What exactly does _that_ mean?" Stork moaned.

"I don't know, bu- Watch out!" Lypix yelled as another ship grazed across the surface of the Terra, also receiving several small explosions as smaller crystals were dislodged and absorbed the energy around them. It was another Cyclonion one, but this time it did not hit the ground as hard.

"We've got to get moving." Aerrow hurried, "We don't have much time."

00

_Lypix looked around, the walls extended high to the ceiling, where banners hung with the Cyclonion insignia. So that was where she was. Cyclonia._

"_Dark Ace!" The mechanical voice Lypix had come to know and revolt, called._

"_Yes Master Cyclonis?" That was something Lypix noticed, he never called her plain Master._

"_I want to know your feelings on that Crystal Angel."_

_To Lypix's studious eyes, she noticed his tough chest constrict slightly. "What about her?" The response was calm, but she saw a seething urge to protect behind his eyes._

"_A piece of Literature has come to my attention that seems to denounce her claim to even be a crystal angel. In which case, she is of no use to us."_

_Lypix didn't react, she saw his head whirl with emotion, he really was an interesting thing to watch. "But Cyclonis, they all still think she is their leader. Surely that is something."_

_Cyclonis slammed her hand on the small table by her side. "God Damn it Dark Ace! You are becoming weak! Exactly like you were before! If this behaviour continues, I will have to dismiss you from my service."_

_He bowed his head, "I am sorry Cyclonis. I will see what I can do."_

_Lypix stepped to stand beside him, she touched his shoulder even though he didn't know she was there. "Don't DA" She whispered, "I will make sure you don't die. Just..."_

"_Just what Lypix?" _

_Lypix snapped her head up, the scene had changed, it was only Cyclonis there now, staring at her weakened figure. Lypix inhaled sharply._

"_Oh yes. I know." The cold voice smiled maliciously._

"_What is it that you seem to know?"_

"_I know that he is some sort of weakness to you. They both are." She caressed an oblivion crystal, something Lypix ignored._

_Lypix scoffed, "They mean nothing to me."_

_Cyclonis raised an eyebrow, "Oh, is that so? I wasn't aware you were such a cold person."_

_Lypix lifted her head slightly, "Don't play games with me Cyclonis. What do you want?"_

_Cyclonis studied Lypix's face, "You are an imposter, defiantly no descendant of Crispin as we first thought."_

"_So sue me."_

_Cyclonis continued, "You are of no use to us. I want you to know that I do not want the Dark Ace to marry you, now or ever."_

_Lypix grinned, "And this is bad news?"_

_Cyclonis returned to a happy narrowing of the eyes, "But I didn't say he wouldn't force himself upon you." She started to walk a circle into the nameless room, "He is quite obsessed, I am not really in a position to stop him."_

"_You? The so called master of evil?"_

"_Well..." She looked up "I can't really let him go, he knows too much. " She sighed, "No, assassination would be the only remaining option."_

_Lypix snarled, "Why are you telling me this?"_

"_Because..." She grinned, "I know he will choose you eventually. I just want you to know that his life is at stake if you don't join us as well."_

**_000000000000000000000_**

**Oops! Sorry everyone, this was meant to be up yesterday!**


	4. Rubble

The heat from the wastelands was the sort of thing Piper tried to avoid. Her hair was already going crackle up due to the lack of moisture.

"How you doing Junko?" Aerrow panted out, Radarr walking sluggily by his side.

He grunted, "I'll be okay for a little longer."

"Well you say when you need to stop and we will."

Piper grimaced, "Actually I could do with a rest now."

Stork sighed heavily at the lead of the troupe, "Can we keep going, sometime today?"

Finn slumped down next to Piper, his hair matted slightly by the warmth causing his skin to melt. "The Condor is not going anywhere Stork, you'll just have to wait."

He growled in response but said nothing.

Junko plopped a recently unconscious Lypix down beside him, her eyebrows creasing slightly. Aerrow looked at his small injured crew and smiled, what a family.

"What are we going to do?" Piper groaned weakly, "How will we ever get the Condor out of there without crystal help?"

"With difficulty." Junko replied, taking a long gulp from a water bottle he had brought with him.

"Well-" Stork stopped as he caught sight of what was behind them. "We might not have to worry about that right now."

The others cautiously spinned. To come directly face to face with a giant wormlike creature. It growled.

"Do you think we can talk our way out of this?" Finn asked hopefully.

"Guess the answer Finn!" Aerrow shouted as the creature struck downwards, they started to spread out, Junko placed Lypix in a safe position and came back into the fight, yelling as he clinked his knuckle dusters on. "Oh" came the response as he realised they wouldn't work.

"Keep going Junko, it doesn't matter!"

"I don't think we can take it down!" Piper screamed as it almost crushed her. Stork pulled her up and they kept up the dance of dodging.

Aerrow grimaced. "Finn! Keep up firing at it. Stork, Piper, distract it. Junko, you know what to do!"

The beast moaned in pain as Finn shot several uncrystallized arrows into its side, while Junko pummelled it from the other.

Cries of "Oi! Beastie!" and "Over here!" echoed through the air, until it eventually retreated into the magma below.

They breathed a sigh of relief and flopped down, all apart from Stork.

"Come on! We've got to keep moving!"

00

_Lypix opened her eyes. Everything seemed awfully familiar. A memory._

_One of broken glass and rubble, the world seemed to be greying before her. Flashbacks of bombs exploding moments before brought violent turbulence into her head. But that was gone, all was quiet now._

_Nothing moved. Lypix started to wonder if this was an old photograph she'd seen, that would explain the lack of colour. She moved her hand forward, and noticed strings of blood rippled across it; Lypix pulled it towards her in bewilderment, then the pain kicked in. A mighty crushing sensation washed over half her body, her hand, chest and back of Lypix's head stung with the ache of air inside her wounds. She screamed out loud and tried to move, but she was trapped._

_A pair of boots budged its way into her vision, they were relatively new, but had been walking far that day. Scuffs were obvious._

_Lypix looked up, her gaze met by a pair of curious eyes. Hungry eyes._


	5. Cards

Lypix sharply inhaled. It smelt of hot air and Junko. She blinked; the ground was getting less liquid with every step.

"Junko?"

He looked up at the feeble noise. "Hey, how you doing?"

She smiled faintly, "I'm feeling a bit better."

"Piper, keep up!" Stork demanded.

Junko turned to glance at the weakened girl, both he and Lypix saw them, but it was Lypix who responded.

"PIPER! RUN!" She didn't bother turn around; Piper knew what would be behind her by now.

Aerrow stared in horror as Cyclonion skimmers gained on them, how had they beaten Terra Mas?

"They're pushbikes!" Piper yelled, "Once they're far enough away, they've been upgraded with crystals!"

"We're still close enough for the Terra to affect Lypix, why isn't it affecting their crystals?!"

A skimmer pushed over the verge in front of them.

"I believe I can answer that question." The Dark Ace grinned maliciously.

They stopped, with lava either side, the Dark Ace in front of them and more Cyclonions behind, there was nowhere to go.

"Cyclonis has developed crystal cases which mean that our crystals can still work, without being absorbed. Unfortunately it is a bit late for the crew of the _Poison_, but then we can't all be saved."

He looked up, "And I believe Cyclonis said you'd be coming with me this time Lypix."

Her next breath sounded like the scraping of two knives, so it wasn't just a dream, Cyclonis had meant business.

"She's going nowhere with the likes of you." Aerrow hissed, sliding protectively between them.

"Junko put me down." She whispered, which he grudgingly obliged to.

"And who's going to stop me? The Storm Hawks? Look at you, three of you injured and with no crystal power whatsoever. I may have betrayed the original Storm Hawks, but even they had standards."

Aerrow's face flamed an angry red, "That's it Bitch, I am so taking you!"

"Aerrow don't!" She stepped forwards but had no means to carry out her request, the Dark Ace and Aerrow locked blades, snarling in each other's faces.

"See?" He whispered, "She was going to come with me."

Aerrow growled, "She also asked me to stop, I presume so I don't hurt you."

"Or vice versa." The Dark Ace grinned.

A whirl of colour commenced, Aerrow's russet hair dashed in and out against the Dark Ace's armour. One insignia against the other. Two birds locked in a forever battle.

"Stop it!" Lypix screamed at them, "Don't you know what you're doing?!"

They both ignored her and kept fighting, Aerrow received a large graze to his arm, while the Dark Ace obtained a small gash on his shoulder.

"STOP IT!" She yelled, "STOP FIGHTING OVE-"Lypix clutched her hand to her chest, her breathing faltering almost completely, however she remained standing.

Both fighters stopped at the interruption in her voice, a stalking, dangerous figure stood behind her.

"I think we have a small misunderstanding here." The quiet calculating voice peeled at Lypix's consciousness, Cyclonis delicately held a large leecher in her hand. With the combined strength from Terra Mas, it pulled at Lypix's heart.

"Cyclonis" The Dark Ace addressed, falling to one knee. A small tug came to her lips.

"Cyclonis" Aerrow growled as he assessed the danger to Lypix, her breath didn't get any quieter.

"Lypix and I understand each other here. We both know what we can do to make the other happy."

"Not now." Lypix struggled to say, her voice fainter than the presence of their shadows.

Aerrow's face creased slightly, was this a betrayal? Or something nastier?

Cyclonis gently stepped towards Lypix's back, tracing the violent crystal along the exposed skin on her neck, causing Lypix to twist her face in pain. Her lungs scratched at the air in a desperate need for oxygen.

"I agree. Now is not the time. Things are not ready for us. But soon Lypix. The future is not far away." It ended with a laugh, one that left a bad thought in Lypix's mind. Cyclonis knew something she didn't.

"Come on Dark Ace, we have things to, _prepare_ for." Cyclonis spoke the sentence with slight disdain, something he ignored.

"Not long now Lypix." She smiled to her back as they mounted their skimmers and left. In the distance Piper saw the Talons receive the order to leave.

"What was that about Lypix?" Finn asked, staring directly at her trapped and motionless face.

But as soon as Cyclonis was out of range, Lypix collapsed, her head having one fleeting thought.

_Cyclonis has all the cards. And she's about to play them._


End file.
